What are the top browsers, operating systems, and devices? We looked at data from the top configurations of CrossBrowserTesting customers tested to give you better insight.

After looking at the millions of browser and operating system configurations our customers have tested in 2018, 100 reign supreme. These results have come from a mix of people in different roles, industries, and company sizes, showing us the most commonly tested configurations out of 1500+ choices.

If you’re trying to decide which browsers and devices to test, this data should give you more to consider when it comes time to pick. Whether you’re testing in 5 browsers or 500, keeping in mind some of the most commonly tested configurations will help you outline a strategy for testing.

Top Takeaways

The top 100 combinations make up 68% of total tests – One hundred configurations may seem like a lot, but there’s more where that came from. We have thousands of browser/OS/device combos that extend well beyond this view. However, the top 100 does make up the majority of our customers’ browser testing, so it gives up a good benchmark of common trends and patterns.

The top 100 browsers include Chrome, Safari, IE, Edge, Firefox, and Opera – These are the 6 major browsers, so it’s not surprising that they’re the most common choices. It’s important to note, however, that our customers are not only testing on the latest versions of these browsers. By includer older browser versions in your testing, you get a more complete understanding of whether your application works for both Chrome users that are quick to update to the latest browser as well as those who might prolong it and be a few versions back.

Only Chrome and Safari are tested on mobile OSs – Unexpectedly, people most often test Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android. However, in this data set, there are ranges of browser versions and device models. If you are keeping your mobile testing limited to mobile Chrome and Safari browsers, make sure to keep older versions and diversified devices in mind. Keep in mind that the mobile browser share of your users may differ depending on where your users are. For example, internationally, UC Browser and Opera Mini will be more popular on mobile. It’s always good to use an analytics tool in order to get an accurate representation of your user base.

The #1 most tested browser/OS is Safari 11 in Mac OSX 10.13 – While Safari isn’t overwhelming in browser share, this Mac OSX and Safari combo is the most commonly tested configuration. Most likely, this means a lot of testers aren’t on Mac or Safari together and realize it’s a common configuration.

The most tested browser is Chrome – Considering Chrome is the most popular browser, this makes a lot of sense. The most commonly tested version is actually an older one with Chrome 43 hitting the #2 spot, but throughout the top 100 most people are testing in 63 or higher. It’s evident that people are testing on older Chrome versions and recent versions, which is good, especially being as popular as it is.

For mobile browsers, people are testing the most in Safari 8 – 11 – Again, we’re seeing that not only are people testing on a range of mobile devices, they’re also being mindful of testing older versions of those browsers. For mobile Chrome, we see users go back as far as 58. Especially with mobile devices, not everyone may be updating as soon as it’s available, and it’s important to keep this in mind with mobile testing.

The most popular mobile browser is Safari 10 on iPhone 7 – Here’s Another data point that shouldn’t surprise too many people. This configuration makes it into the top 10 most commonly tested browsers. Since this is one of the most common mobile devices, it goes to show that people are aware of these trends and including them in their testing strategy.

The second most often tested desktop browser after Chrome is Internet Explorer with the most popular version being IE11 and going back until IE9 – Internet Explorer is a consistent problem for developers and testers alike. Although it may not be the most widely used browser, the fact that it is highly problematic means it deserves a spot on your browser roster. It’s apparent that our customers know this, too.

Most popular mobile OS is iOS with iPhone 7 being the most popular device, followed by the nexus 6p on Android 7.0 – Most people are testing iPhones and the most recent models at that. This is because, unlike the fragmented Android market, most iPhone users will be using the most recent devices and operating systems. This is ideal because it means you can cover a larger portion of your user base without testing on too many iOS devices. However, as you dive into mobile testing, make sure you include Android phones too. Although their users are more diversified, it’s good to get a base to understand of the Android users’ experience.

While it’s popular for mobile, Safari desktop browser only appears 3 times in the top 100 – Safari is predominately tested on mobile devices, but not often tested on desktop Mac OSX and only appears 3 times in the top 100 despite also being in the #2 spot. Although Safari is the default browsing option for Mac, similar to iOS, it seems that people tend to download Chrome and use it more often on Mac OS than iOS. If you are testing on Mac, it’s probably best to test in both Safari and Chrome, since we are aware that users are on both and others test both.

Twenty-six of the top 100 configurations are mobile, 5 are tablets – When it comes to mobile testing, it can be confusing to know how many devices to add to your mix, but this gives us a pretty good idea — about 25% should be mobile. This, of course, is not an exact number and it should be based more heavily on your users and application — if you see high mobile traffic it should be higher, and vice versa — but it gives you a good starting point. Use this as a benchmark, and make sure to include iOS and Android with different browsers or models, as well as a few tablets, which will be telling when it comes to responsive design and verifying the way your application looks on different screen sizes.

Customers are testing as far back as Windows 7 OS and Mac 10.11 – Not only are our customers testing older browser versions, they’re also testing older OS versions as well. This is important because while new browsers are coming out the time, there are also regular OS updates that not everyone will do. Keeping these older operating systems in mind while testing will give you more insightful and accurate browser testing.

Conclusion

Our customers seem to have a pretty good idea of what they’re doing when it comes to browser testing. From the Top 100 data, we can see that users are testing the most popular browsers, operating systems, and devices to cover large market shares, but they’re also testing older versions to account for people that may not update right away.

As you approach testing in your organization, keeping these takeaways in mind will guide you to account for the most significant coverage. This way, no matter whether users visit your website on IE or Chrome, iPhone or Android, Mac or Windows, you can be prepared to provide the best experience possible to everyone.

About Alex McPeak

Alex McPeak is a Content Marketing Specialist for CrossBrowserTesting and is always looking to provide insights in testing, development, and design for the software community, appearing in outlets such as Abstracta, DZone, and Ministry of Testing. She's especially interested in writing about the latest innovations in technology and is forever #TeamiPhone.